The Prevalence of Injuries in Professional Turkish Soccer Players

Abstract

Study aim: To assess the prevalence and anatomical sites of injuries in professional soccer players in one game season. Material and methods: A cohort of 510 professional male soccer players consisting of 48 goalkeepers, 194 defence players, 189 mid- field players and 79 forward players of the 1st and 2nd Turkish Professional Soccer Leagues in 2005 - 2006 season were requested to submit questionnaire reports on all injuries they experienced. Results: About 60% of all injuries pertained to lower extremities, another 25% to upper extremities, the most frequent being skin abrasions (about 24%). The percentage of players who sustained injuries was lowest among midfield players (about 47%) compared with other categories (nearly 70%) but the average number of injuries per player was highest among them (8.1 vs. about 4.5). The risk of sustaining injury when playing a match amounted to 9.8% for mid-field players; that was significantly (p< 0.01) lower (11.7 - 13.0%) than for other categories of players. Conclusions: Football injuries are the major factor affecting players' performance. Thus, appropriate strategies, aimed at reducing injuries, ought to be implemented.